Quick Facts:
Where: The accident occurred on Highway 285 near Artesia in Chaves County, New Mexico.
What Happened: A tractor-trailer allegedly collided with DOT vehicles on the side of the roadway.
Participants:
- Mittie Runyan, driver of NMDOT pickup truck
- DOT workers/pedestrians
- Driver of tractor-trailer
Reported Injuries/Fatalities:
- Mittie Runyan, 58, killed
- Two DOT workers/pedestrians, injured
Details:
On or about Monday, December 6th, 2021, around 10:30 in the morning, a serious accident between a tractor-trailer and several NMDOT vehicles left a 58-year-old woman dead and sent two other individuals to the hospital. Troopers from the NMSP said the accident was reported along Highway 285 just outside Artesia, New Mexico.
Investigators from the New Mexico State Police said 58-year-old Mittie Runyan was killed when a tractor-trailer allegedly veered off the side of Highway 285 and slammed into multiple New Mexico Department of Transportation pickup trucks. Runyan was in one of the pickup trucks at the time of the collision and was airlifted to a Lubbock hospital where she succumbed to her injuries a short time after her arrival. Two other DOT workers were standing nearby the collision, and were taken to the hospital with unspecified injuries.
According to Google Maps, the scene of the accident is a short distance north of Artesia, which is about 247 miles southeast of Albuquerque.
Multiple agencies responded to the scene to assist.